Something Like That
by VChan1
Summary: A romancehumor story between Zell and a character I created. 5th chapter is FINALLY up. PG because there's some swearing.
1. First Impression

DISCLAIMER: Okay, we all know the drill, right? I don't own the characters, I'm not that lucky. Don't sue, I'm just a broke high school student saving up for a car. If I'm lucky.  
  
AUTHOR'S NOTES: This is my first story I'm publishing out on the internet. PLEASE review! I posted the first chapter already, this is added on, though. I've added like 3 pages, so if you've already read it, please re-read. This is the complete first chapter. It's a Zell romance, just cause the poor guy hardly ever gets a good romance fanfic. Oh yeah, again, Lore isn't like...as in the word, "folklore". It's another way to spell the name Laura.  
  
  
  
Something Like That  
  
Well, I have no idea who'll be reading this, but I'm Zell Dincht. Selphie begged and pleaded with me to write this all down while it was still fresh in my mind, and finally bribed me with hot dogs. So here I am, and here's the story...Selphie's frowning right now at my introduction. She says if this is going to be on her web page, and she's going to give me hotdogs for this, I better take it seriously. Don't worry, I'm serious, baby! I guess I'm not supposed to swear a lot either, cause she'll have to edit it for her page or something. Well, I if it's for food, I guess it's worth it. We're in the library right now, and one of the student aides keeps looking at me. I wanted to start typing a kidnapping notice or something just to freak them out, but Selphie won't let me do that either. She's fighting me for the keyb-  
Zell! You promised to do this, now would you start typing something serious? I'm not about to get thrown out of the library and reported to Cid cause some library nerd thinks we kidnapped someone! Now type, you spiky haired muskrat!   
Okay, okay, settle down. I'll get started for real.  
Booyaka!  
Selphie, would you stop saying that? I'll bet you're running around yelling elephant in Polish or something and don't even know it. You might have just insulted my mother. Now, if you wanted me to get serious, leave the keyboard alone so I can.  
Okay. Sorry about that. Here we go:  
  
I should probably first tell you a little about me. So far you know I'm Zell, I like hotdogs, and Selphie called me a muskrat. She likes to call me a pig, too. If it wasn't for the hotdogs, I wouldn't be doing this for that brat. I have blue eyes and blond hair that kinda sticks up in the front, near my forehead. At first it was a pain, but then I just said screw it and styled it spiked in the front, so it doesn't always look like my hair is messed up. That would explain the spikey-haired thing, but I'm not sure why she called me a muskrat. I'm not the greatest looking guy, I just don't know why she said muskrat in particular. Maybe my eyes are too close together. I go to Balamb Garden and live there. I'm from Balamb, the town, which is right nearby the Garden. My dad died when I was younger, so it's just my mom living there. She's not my real mom, though. I was adopted when I was younger, and forgot I had lived in an orphanage till I met some people that had been in the orphanage with me when we were kids. I never told my mom I knew I was adopted, though. What good would it do?   
I really can't think of much else to say about myself. I'm 17, and have been at Garden since I was 13. I just made Seed this year, and I'm a martial arts close combat specialist. In other words, I fight with my fists and kick a lot.  
My little story here starts on a Tuesday, in the hall outside the training center. The training center is this place where they keep monsters for students to...well, kill, for practice. I was walking to go train, to kill some time till lunch. Walking down the hall, I noticed Selphie and a friend of hers walking towards me, about halfway down the hall.   
"Hiya, Zell!" Selphie chirped cheerfully. "This here's Lore. We used to be roommates."  
"Hello, girls," I answered as smoothly as possible. Honestly, I don't know a thing about sounding suave, but with Selphie's pretty friend in front of me, I was sure as hell gonna try. She was something else, too. Prettiest red hair, not the weird orangey kind. A dark, brownish-red, and long and thick. It was about halfway between her shoulder blades and waist. Her eyes were dark brown, all wide and soft looking. Spanish eyes. They were so dark, they almost looked black. Until you got right up to her face, you had a hard time seeing the pupils. Gorgeous. She was so damn little in front of me, it was adorable. I'm only 5'5", and I'm actually rather sensitive about it. I don't talk a lot about it, but I'd like to be taller. She couldn't have been more than 5'2, which was perfect. I know its old-fashioned and all, and I don't like being sexist, but I hate having to look up to girls, I really do.  
So this Lore was just great. She was quite short, and very slender. Petite, I guess, is the word. I'd be surprised if she broke 100 pounds. Really, she could have passed for a 12 year old, if she wasn't so damn hot. She looked delicate in a way, something kind of unusual at Garden. She was pale, and so little, she almost looked fragile.   
Now, I want to say something right now. I don't want you to think I'm some kind of leering skirt chaser. I'm not, honestly. But even I'm starting to wonder if I sound too much like that dumb ass Kinneas right now. Don't get all upset over the name calling. I like Irvine, I really do. It's just how I am, running around calling people dumbasses for no reason. Once I asked Squall if he had been kicked in the head by a butterfly as an infant. And Irvine's not really any worse than I am. He pretends about chasing girls, but I think it's more for attention than testosterone issues. He's actually more of a gentlemen than most guys I can think of here at Garden. But I'm totally off-track. I just wanted to tell you I'm not aching to bed every girl I meet or anything. This girl just caught my attention. End of news brief.  
Anyways, so back to my story. Selphie, halfway down the hallway greets me and introduces the vision beside her as Lore. Lore, that's such a nice name, it really is. Selphie and this goddess are walking closer, and I say, "Hello girls," trying to sound cool. They walk closer, I'm eyeing Lore, and stop just in front of me. I held my hand out to shake hands with Lore. As soon as we touched hands, that butterfly that was kicking Squall in the head suddenly appeared in my stomach and exploded into 100 little butterflies. I began wondering how impressed she would be if I hurled.   
"Lore? T-that's a, uh, nice n-name.." I rambled. I wanted to start smacking my face against the wall. Conversational skills, 10. I mean, nice name?! Why not talk about the weather and bingo?  
"Thank you...excuse me," she added, looking sheepish. "Who are you again?"  
"Zell." In my mind I was running through a list of all the bathrooms in Garden, trying to decide where the closest one was. She didn't seem like the kind who'd like to see me throw up. Selphie could just tell her about it later. That would be humiliating enough.   
"Zell...that's uh, interesting." I nodded. There was an awkward silence. For once in her goddam life, Selphie keeps her mouth shut, and it just may kill me of embarrasment.  
"So..," I finally said. "It's a nice day. The sun's out." Inwardly I groaned. Oh fer chrissake, Zell, you just keep wowing her. I fervently hoped I didn't hurl on her shoes. She looked at me kinda funny, and I couldn't blame her. If I was some great looking person, and someone came up to my stuttering about the weather, I'd walk as fast as possible outta there. She just kinda nodded. Then finally she said, "Uh, Zell, are you eating enough? You look kinda..pale. Are you eating enough?"   
Selphie giggled. "Eating enough? He probably ate five minutes ago."  
I shot her a Glare of Death. "I'm a, uh, pretty healthy eater. I don't think I ate anything bad, I had cereal at breakfast and a hamburger yesterday for dinner." Okay, so I had 2 bowls of cereal, 3 donuts, fruit, 2 containers of milk, and orange juice for breakfast, and ate just as well at dinner. She didn't need to know everything.  
She raised an eyebrow. "Hamburger? No hotdog? I thought everyone loved the hotdogs." Inwardly I sighed with relief. At least one of us had better conversational skills than a mushroom.   
"None left again!" I complained. "Everyone does love the hotdogs, that's the problem. I can never get any!"  
She smiled knowingly. "You just have to know the right people, that's all." The three of us began walking over to a bench outside the training center. We all sat down, but it was a pretty close fit with all of us on the same bench, so I put my arms up on the back of the bench, and more importantly, one arm draped over Lore's shoulders.  
"So, are you and Selphie old friends?" I asked.  
"Lore and I used to be roommates till I made SeeD," Selphie announced.  
"Yeah, for about two days," Lore said with a laugh. My heart sank. Lore wasn't a SeeD? She wasn't one of those girls (and don't get me wrong, guys do it, too) that came to Garden and just killed time till they were 20 and got thrown out, without ever trying to become a SeeD...was she? That would bring her down about 20 levels in my eyes. To me, SeeD had meant a lot. Before the final exam, I studied like mad. Making SeeD became my life. I could never respect someone who acted like all this was a joke.  
"You-you're...not a SeeD?" I asked, trying to sound casual.  
"No. Last year was the first year I could take the test, and I had to go home to Deling. I'm only 16."  
Inwardly, I breathed a sigh of relief. 'Of course, she's younger than me, that's all,' I thought. Talk about getting carried away.  
"You had to go home? Sickness in the family?"  
She hesitated. "Something like that."  
Selphie changed the subject abruptly. "Zell became a SeeD last year when I did. He's the one I went on my first mission with, him and Squall."  
I noticed Lore looking at my gloves. She looked up and met my eyes. "I was just...curious. So you're a martial arts close combat specialist?"  
Now this caught my attention. I mean, for one thing, no one calls it that. Most people go, "So you like...punch and stuff, right?" She obviously knew a little something about what she was talking about. Which was pretty interesting, because most girls at Garden fight with a whip or nunchuku. I'm not being sexist or anything, it's just girls do tend to be smaller than guys, and it's a lot easier for even the lightest people to inflict some decent damage with a nunchuku. Using nothing but yourself as a weapon takes a little more force.  
"What weapon do you use?" I questioned.   
"Right now, a whip" she replied with a wry smile. As I expected. Then, she began rolling up her left sleeve, revealing a cast. "I used to use gloves." she commented dryly. "I hated having to switch to a whip, but it's the best I can do, with having one good hand. At least it's only temporary."  
My eyes went wide in surprise. She looked at my expression and started laughing. Then, the warning bell that sounds every half an hour went off. She jumped up, rolling down her sleeve, and explained in a rush that she was about to be late for class. She hurried off, and Selphie and I both stood up. Selphie left to go to the cafeteria and "socialize", her way of saying gossip.  
I stood there in the hallway for about 20 minutes to remember where the hell I had been heading in the first place.   
  
  
  
  



	2. Lunch

DISCLAIMER: Okay, we all know the drill, right? I don't own the characters, I'm not that lucky. Well, except for Lore, I made her up. Don't sue, I'm just a broke high school student saving up for a car. If I'm lucky.  
  
AUTHOR'S NOTES: This is my first story I'm publishing out on the internet. PLEASE review! I'm up to chapter two, finally. And again, Lore is pronounced like the name Laura.  
  
  
  
CHAPTER TWO  
  
After awhile, I did get to the Training Center, after I pulled myself together enough to remember that was my original destination. I messed around in there for awhile, killing time. Pretty soon it was nearly quarter after 12, around the time I met everyone for lunch. Running into the cafeteria, I spotted Irvine getting out of line with a tray of spaghetti.   
"Yo, Irv," I called.  
He turned to me and waited for me to catch up. "Hey, Zell. So like, where you been?"  
"Trainin' center. Any hotdogs left?"  
"Nah."  
We reached the table everyone else- Rinoa, Squall, Selphie, and Quistis- was already sitting at. I plopped down next to Rinoa. She handed me a piece of bread off her tray.   
"Hey, thanks!" I said, stuffing it in my mouth. Then out of the corner of my eye, I saw someone kneel on the bench next to me. They leaned over, and I realised it was Lore. Nearly choking on the bread, I quickly swallowed.  
"Ta-da!" she announced, setting something carefully in front of me. Looking down, I saw a plate of hotdogs. My mouth dropped open.  
"ALL RIGHT!!" I yelled. "Totally cool, Lore, thanks!"  
She laughed. "It's nice to be so appreciated." Halfway through the first hotdog already, I stopped to finish chewing. Swallowing, I asked, "So how'd you do it?"  
"Magic," she replied simply.  
"Oh!" Selphie exclaimed, jumping up. "I haven't introduced you all yet. All, this is Lore. Lore, this is Squall." Lore stood up and held out her hand. Squall looked at her for a moment, and Lore faltered, but kept her hand out to him. After a while, he finally shook her hand. I saw Rinoa breath a sigh of relief.  
"This is Rinoa," Selphie continued. Rinoa shook her hand with a broad smile, a much warmer greeting than Lore had gotten from Squall.   
"I already know Ms. Trepe," Lore said, turning to face Quistis. "Please, call me Quistis," she replied. Lore nodded, and turned to face Irvine, the last person to be introduced.  
"And this is Irvine," Selphie announced. Lore held out her hand. Irvine took her hand, and, instead of shaking like everyone else, bowed deeply, kissing the back of her hand. "I'm very pleased to meet you." All of a sudden, I had a strong urge to see a certain cowboy wear ketchup. He let go of her hand, and instead touched her hair. "You've got lovely hair...but I'm sure you hear that all the time, a gorgeous girl like you." She blushed, and I gritted my teeth, grabbing the edge of the table. Then he put his arms around her shoulders and whispered something. Her smile grew, and my knuckles turned white from clenching the table so hard. He pulled out a chair for her and offered her a seat, even though he had just seen her sitting right next to me. I was PISSED. It had nothing to do with Lore. Well, maybe a little. Okay, a lot. But the reason I was mad was because of how Irvine jumps after all the girls before the rest of us get a chance. Then they follow him around with those puppy dog eyes, and can't see past him to us other nice guys. And he already has Selphie. I thought girls paid no attention to me before...hanging out with Irvine makes it about 50 times worse.  
She looked at the seat, then back to where she had been sitting with me. She smiled at him again. 'Yeah, yeah, here it comes, again. Man, is it the cowboy hat or what ?,' I thought.  
"Sorry, Irvine, I'm already sitting next to Zell," she replied, sitting back down next to me. Irvine had this shocked look across his face, probably about the same look I had. I know my mouth dropped open for a minute. He, of course, quickly regained his composure.   
"Well, maybe next time," he grinned, sitting down. My expression quickly turned to a smug grin, thinking mature things like, 'Ooh, in your FACE! De-NIED!'. Then I realised I better make good use of this opportunity, and took my attention away from my gloating and focused on Lore.   
  
By the next day when lunch came around again, I was nervous and excited. Nervous that Lore wouldn't sit with us again, or that she would and I'd make a fool of myself. Excited (and nervous) at the thought of talking to her again. I hurried into the cafeteria right at noon, not even bothering to wait in line to try and get a hotdog. Walking over to our table, right away I noticed two things.  
Lore was there. And Irvine was next to her.  
'Okay,' I thought. 'No big deal. It's just one lunch.' Even so, my good mood was quickly dissolving into nothingness. I sat down next to Selphie instead. For some reason, my eyes immediately focused on Irvine's hands. And watched as he moved them onto Lore's shoulders. And then watched as she frowned, and pulled his arms off of her. I was about to smirk again, then realised it didn't mean she'd let me put my arms around her, either.   
"Sorry," he drawled. "You're just so pretty, I couldn't help myself. Here, how about I buy you a glass of iced tea or something and make it up to you?"  
She smiled again. "I love iced tea. Just keep your hands off me this time." He nodded and left the table. I leaned over to Selphie and whispered, "Looks like they're getting along."  
She nodded, "Yeah, he came into the cafeteria early today and sat next to her. I'm glad they're getting to be friends." (Honestly, could anyone be more trusting than Selphie?) Irvine returned with a glass of iced tea. Placing it in front of Lore, he sat back down.   
"Thank you," she said.  
"Anytime, beautiful," he replied smoothly. Then he turned to her and said something in a low voice I couldn't understand. In a moment, his arm was back over her shoulders. She didn't react. He bowed his head down to her and whispered something, moving his hand down her arm.   
I leaned back over to Selphie, still keeping a pretty close eye on that jerk Kinneas' hands. "I don't know how you can watch him be like this." What I really meant was, 'Why am I even watching this? Am I trying to torture myself?'. She shrugged. "It doesn't bother me," she whispered back. "He'd never...um..you know, act." His hand moved farther down her arm and I gritted my teeth. I was ready to flip. But it's not like I had any right. I didn't own Lore. Still, I wasn't exactly thrilled to death. Then his hand started playing with the fabric of her shirt at her stomach. I wanted to leave, but for some reason I couldn't. I was frozen there, watching him, and couldn't react. She was killing me.   
All of a sudden, she stood up, and slowly dumped her iced tea over him. My mouth dropped open.   
"Maybe next time, when I tell you I don't want you to touch me, you'll keep your hands off. Try a cold shower." Kicking his chair backwards, she flipped him over onto the floor. He was still on the chair like he was sitting, but now his back was on the floor. She stalked out of the cafeteria.  
We all just watched him for a moment. Then Rinoa giggled. Next Quistis, then me. Squall covered his mouth, but you could see his shoulders shaking. Selphie broke down in a fit of giggles, though she tried to contain herself. He stood up, righting his chair. Then he stood at the end of the table, glaring down at all of us. We tried to stop laughing, but then a drop of iced tea fell from his hat onto the table, and we lost it again. Selphie jumped up and hugged him, burying her face in his shoulder to muffle her giggling. He continued to glare at us, but held onto Selphie. Finally, after a moment, he grinned slightly. Looking self-conscious, he finally sighed. "I guess I deserved that."  
He let go of Selphie, and added, "I've got to take a shower now." Tipping her face up, he kissed her quickly and walked away. She watched him go, then sat back down next to me.   
"That was incredible," I laughed. "I have to talk to her about that."   
Selphie grinned. "325."   
"Huh?" I asked intelligently.  
She rolled her eyes impatiently. "You want to talk to her, right? Her dorm is room 325."  
I swallowed. Go to her dorm? I felt my stomach clench up. "A-all right, thanks!" I answered.   
  
  
Authors Notes: Please Review! The more reviews, the more motivated I will be to add on to this in a somewhat timely fashion.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	3. Into the Lair

Disclaimer: Don't own the characters, Squaresoft does. (I'm too tired to think of something original and/or cute right now).  
  
Authors Notes: Here's chapter 3. I'm finally getting closer to the length of chapters I want, but it's still shorter than I was hoping for. Oh yeah, I got a review that said something like: "Zell looks like a dork when he's trying to be cool," or something to that effect. I'm not sure exactly what was meant by that, but I just want to point out, that's intentional. If you ask me, Zell ISN'T cool. I realise this is a hazardous thing to say in a crowd of Zell fans, but before you finish writing your hate-mail, hear me out. Zell's a funny, hyper-active, non-threatening guy. He's not a tough hard ass like Seifer. He's too nice to be "cool." He's likeable, not popular. Zell is actually my favorite character, I'm not trying to insult him in anyway. But I think it fits that when he tries to be "cool", he just sounds awkward. He's too passionate to be "cool". And a couple times in the game when he tried, he sounded awkward there, too. Anyways, I just wanted to point out I deliberately made Zell out that way. If you have complaints with that, tell me, but I'm probably not going to change it. If I do, I might as well have him write poetry and turn into a ladies man. He's out of character enough, unfortunately. (I'm having trouble keeping him true to character.)  
  
CHAPTER THREE  
  
  
I made it to room 325. And I stood out in the hallway for about 20 minutes, just staring at the room numbers on the door. And then....I turned chicken and headed for my dorm. Yes, I was ashamed of myself, too. In my dorm, I brushed my teeth again, and combed my hair. I finally got up the courage to go back. So back I went, and stopped in front of the door once again, just staring. This was getting to be a very annoying pattern. I decided to just get it over with. Swallowing nervously, I quickly brushed my hair back with my hand. I knocked sharply on the door before I had the chance to change my mind again. There was a pause, then Lore opened the door.  
In a towel.  
My eyes went wide, and I clenched my teeth to keep my jaw from falling open. In all the things I had thought might possibly happen when I went to her dorm (most of them having the general theme of me looking like an idiot), this was not one of them. Here was this gorgeous girl in front of me, in nothing more than a towel, and all I could do was gawk. And try to look like I wasn't. I couldn't even remember why I was here. Anything I could think of right now, I would have ended up worse than Irvine.  
Irvine. That's why I was here. Now to remember that. I began mentally chanting the name Irvine.   
"Hello, Zell!" she smiled. I wavered slightly. That smile just kills me. It melts me right through. Yes, I realise how cheesy that sounds. I don't care. "Would you like to come in?" she continued.  
We went in, and she gestured for me to sit on the bed....which, I might add, wasn't helping. This whole visit has been making me carnal bent. She excused herself to go get dressed. i began tapping my foot nervously, looking around the room. There were photographs, letters, posters, the usual things, hung on the walls. Then I saw something white on the floor. Standing up, I moved closer to see what it was. A photograph. I picked it up and turned it over. It was a picture of Selphie, Lore and a third girl I didn't know, posing together in one of the classrooms. Looking at the wall, I saw the thumbtack that had been holding the photo. I pulled the tack out of the wall, and began to hang the photo back up. I hesitated, and studied the photo for a minute. Then- and I really can't explain why- I put the tack back in the wall, and slowly began putting the photo in my pocket. For some reason, I just couldn't let go of it. I don't know what moved me to do that.   
The bathroom door clicked open, and I quickly sat back down on the bed. The door opened farther and Lore came out, fully clothed. She still had a baggy sweatshirt that she was practically swimming in. She was wearing jeans, and I briefly wondered how she could stand such heavy clothes in 76 degrees.   
"So," she said brightly, sitting next to me. "What's up?" My foot began tapping again. I stared blankly, then blinked. I desperately wished I was never around her in an emergency. Even with her fully dressed, I couldn't think. All of a sudden, it came to me. "Irvine," I blurted out. She looked beyond bewildered and gave me an odd look. I couldn't blame her. By now, she must have thought I was the weirdest guy she had ever met. I probably WAS the weirdest guy she had ever met.   
"I-I mean, I came to-to talk a-about what you did to Irvine t-today." She smiled. "It was rotten, I know. But now that Selph can spend more time at Garden lately, I plan on talking with her a lot, which means I'll see a lot of her friends, namely him. So, I just wanted to... let him know where he stood. Gotta keep guys like him in their place."  
"He's pretty calm about it. I mean, I think he sort of realised he had it coming."  
Relief crossed her face. "Yeah, he seems like a good sport. A nice guy, just a flirt. And I didn't think I could stand him acting like that all the time. Hopefully, now he'll treat me like he seems to with Rinoa and Quistis."  
Well, her motives were explained. Plus, it had been just plain funny. I know you all probably think she got a little carried away, but with Irvine, that was probably the best thing she could have done. He only takes hints when they're applied with a sledge hammer. Now he'd realise to leave her alone, and hopefully they could become friends.   
We talked for awhile about Irvine, about Selphie, about Selphie and Irvine. I mentioned she had nice form when she flipped Kinneas' over his chair (yes, form in fighting style, get your mind out of the gutter.) Then we got into a whole conversation about fighting. She showed me the gloves she usually wears, and they were pretty nice. Decent gloves, and the colors fit her. Bright neon pink, with a yellow and green stripe running underneath the knuckles. So then I showed her mine, on my hand as always. She grabbed hold of my hand and started inspecting the design. A perfectly innocent move, but it sure wasn't helping my powers of concentration any. There we were, sitting on her bed, very close together, facing each other, and I couldn't even react. 'Zell, how did you get yourself into this?' I thought. She touched part of my hand. Well, the glove, actually.   
"This is neat," she said thoughtfully. I looked down and saw she was talking about the picture of fire on the front side of the glove. "It looks cool," she added. She looked up and I realised suddenly just how close we were.   
"Um, yeah, that-uh-that, I picked that. I-I liked the picture. But I, um, I h-had to pay more t-to have that, um, added." Boy, around her, I always got to be such a wonder with words. You can really wow the ladies, cantcha, Zell?  
She nodded, still holding my hand. I noticed my foot had begun tapping again. "I imagine..." she replied softly. Oh, please, of all things, don't say imagine. I'm imagining a hundred different things I could do with you right now. I think I need the cold shower more than Kinneas.  
She looked at my blank, idiot face for a moment, then simply said, "Zell?" Something in her voice just totally pushed me over the edge. Before I even realised what I was doing, I leaned over and kissed her gently. She made a small sound of surprise, and I brought my arm around her waist and my other hand to the side of her face. I pulled away for a second, then kissed her again, deeper this time. She began to relax, putting her arms around my neck. I kissed her more urgently, and she began playing with my hair, making my nerves race. I began kissing along her neck shamelessly. What the hell was wrong with me? I can't say I minded what was happening, but why all of a sudden were my hormones completely out of control? I couldn't even keep my hands off her. Finally, I pulled my head up, brought back to the real world, and jumped up from the bed. It had suddenly occured to me exactly what was going on, and the part I was playing in it. She looked at me with those wide, dark eyes, and I couldn't read her expression. Surprise? Happiness? Anger?   
I laughed nervously. "You dumped iced tea on Kinneas for touching you, what are you going to do to me, beat me up?"  
She smiled coyly. "The question is, was it worth it?"  
I gave a short laugh and scratched the back of my head. My foot was tapping again. "Uh, listen, I'm sorry about that. I don't know what came over me, seriously."  
Her smile was replaced with a serious look. She nodded. "Oh yeah, don't worry about it. It happened. Let's just..forget about it."  
"Really? You're okay with it?"  
"Why let one stupid little thing like that mess us up? We'll just be like we always were. No tension."  
I'm not sure why, but I was a little stung by the 'one stupid little thing' comment. I brushed it off. "Oh, that's great. Really, I am sorry."  
"Don't worry about it," she assured me.  
"I better be going now," I told her.  
"You can stay, it's okay."  
"No, I better not," 'or I might jump you again' I added silently. "I, um, I was supposed to talk to Squall this afternoon, anyways," I lied. "I'll see you later, at lunch, maybe."  
She waved, and I turned to the door.   
"Hey, Zell?" she called after me.   
I stopped. "Yeah?"   
"Does Irvine like hotdogs?"  
Ouch. That one hurt. I had felt pretty good about her taking the time to find me a hotdog. I had been so relieved when I saw why she was letting Irvine flirt with her. And now, buying him a goddam hotdog. But all I said was, "Not as much as I do, but I guess he eats them."  
"Oh," she answered. "Do you know what his favorite food is, then?"  
I was about to tell her tuna salad, which he hates more than anything, but I decided to be honest. If she wanted to buy him lunch, what difference did it make what she bought, really?  
"Spaghetti." I said simply.  
"Oooh, OK, thanks! See ya, Zell!" I didn't answer. I turned and stalked out of the room.   
  
I walked back to my dorm, getting angrier by the minute. I reached my dorm, and pulled out the key to unlock the door. "Thanks, Irving! I love iced tea!" I muttered bitterly under my breath. After struggling with the key, I raised my first and punched the door open. It hurt like hell, but I paid no attention. Angrily, I raised my voice. "Well, screw the both of you! What do I care, anyways?! They can get married, have 20 kids, and live happily ever after for what it matters to me." It was obviously just that I was upset over competing with Irvine and losing. Freud himself would agree. Lore had nothing to do with it.  
I ended up spending most of the day at the training center, trying to block out the entire miserable day.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	4. The Cowboy Gets Mad

Authors Notes: Muhahaha, I'm back yet again for another chapter. Again, I have a comment on another review I got. Someone sent me a review telling me how much they liked my "A Miracle named Akane" story. Well, it wasn't me, I don't even know who Akane is. I found out that the story is by someone named V-Star, not V-CHAN. Just wanted to clear that up. This Zell story is my first (and only) FF8 story posted (as of yet, at least), and the only story I'm working on now, period.   
As always, please read and review! Thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed, your feedback is what has kept motivating me to start the next chapter! And when I'm done with this story, I hope to continue writing...so I'm open to suggestions. (I will NOT do Zelphie, though, so don't even mention it.) By the way, I'm working on this little thing where, at some point in the story, I will explain a "quirk" of all the main characters. For example, I'm going to explain Zell's tattoo (as if that hasn't been done to death), and Irvine and his cowboy motif (again, no points for creativity). I know it really has nothing to do with the story, but I thought it would be interesting, and the story is long enough to throw it in without distracting too much from the actual story line. I already know definitely what I'm doing for Irvine, Selphie, and Zell, but I'm at a loss for the other characters. So, suggestions are welcome there, too.   
  
  
CHAPTER 4: The Cowboy Gets Mad  
  
The next day, lunch was as bad as the one before. Lore was there, all right, and practically on Irvine's lap. And in front of him was a plate of spaghetti. I sat next to Selphie, who filled me in on the whole story. In a low voice, she said Lore had bought Irvine spaghetti as a peace offering. Irvine brought her another glass of iced tea, saying hopefully this time it could stay off his clothes.   
"Well, how nice," I replied bitterly, watching Kinneas' hands. Him and Lore sat there joking and laughing. I wanted to kill him.   
"Yeah, I thought so, too!" Selphie said happily, completely missing my sarcasm. I tried to ignore her friend Lore and Irvine the rest of lunch. It was nothing to do with Lore, I just thought Kinneas was being a real jerk, acting like this in front of Selph. I mean, he wasn't DOING anything, but still. I wished some guy would start flirting with her, and then he'd see how it is. The only reason she doesn't have a boyfriend is because everyone knows Kinneas likes her. And he's a sniper. Not to mention a very tall, intimidating looking guy. You'd have to be out of your mind to mess with him. Which gave me a brilliant idea.   
I watched as Kinneas left to get himself another drink, and one for Quistis. Once he left, I stood up behind Selphie and began rubbing her shoulders. "I don't know how you can stand him some of the time," I stated.  
She smiled. "Easily." Then she grabbed my collar and pulled me down closer to her. Quieting her voice, she continued in a hushed whisper, "Who I can never get is Squall and Rinoa. Complete opposites, but look at them. It's amazing." I glanced over at them and saw them sitting together in their section of the table, paying no attention to anyone but each other. Squall was smiling a little at something Rinoa said, and she giggled, leaning on his shoulder. He looked slightly self conscious, but put his arm around her anyways. I felt a stab of jealousy and looked away quickly. It might seem hard to believe, but it was the first time I had felt that. I pushed it aside, and turned my attention back to Selphie. "Yeah, I know what you mean." I looked up, and saw Irvine coming back to the table. His eyes darkened when he saw us, and he frowned a little. Perfect. Unseen by Kinneas, I moved my hand and tickled the back of her neck. She giggled, and he almost dropped the drink he was sitting in front of Quistis. Not once did he take his eyes from us. Keeping my head down to her, I whispered something stupid about how long her hair was getting. She started to answer, but I never did hear what she said. Someone grabbed my shoulder and pulled me away from Selphie. Quickly turning me around to face him, I saw it was Irvine, like I expected. Next was the part I hadn't seen coming. He raised his fist and punched me, right in the nose.  
My hands flew up to my bleeding nose.   
"Zell!" Lore cried.  
"IRVINE!" Selphie yelled.  
"Holy shit!" I exclaimed. "Christ, Irvine, what the frickin' hell was that about?!"  
"Keep your hands the hell off her!" he said angrily.  
"And why should I?" I yelled back.  
"Cause I don't want you touching my girlfriend!" he shouted, and I think he was about to hit me again. Then he realised what he had just said, and I could see him freeze. We all just stared at him for a minute, even me with my bloody nose. Finally, Selphie squeaked, "Y-your girlfriend?"  
Bingo. They could figure the rest out on their own. Meanwhile, I was a little pissed off about my nose.   
"Frickin' hell," I muttered. "I'm outta here."   
  
Lore caught up to me in the hall outside the cafeteria.   
"Zell! Zell, wait!" she pleaded, grabbing my arm. I shook her off abruptly. "Zell, come on, don't. Are you okay? Is your nose broken?"  
"No, it's just bleeding. I'll be fine."  
"Let me help."  
"I don't need any help!" I snapped.   
"Zell..."  
"I told you, I don't need help! I can handle a stupid bloody nose," I said, annoyed. She started to walk off, and I felt a little pang of guilt. I ignored it, continuing down the hall to my dorm. She ran back towards me. And this time, she looked pissed.   
"Listen, I don't know what kind of macho kick you're on, but I just saw Irvine Kinneas pop you right in the nose. Now you're bleeding, and you and I are going straight to Dr. Kadowaki to make sure your nose isn't broken!"  
"I really don't think-"  
"You heard me!" She grabbed my elbow, and I allowed myself to be dragged to the infirmary.   
  
"Dr. Kadowaki!" she called cheerfully into the infirmary. How she changed moods so quick is beyond me. We walked into the room, and found the doctor sitting at her desk. Seeing us, she stood up. "Lore, how are you? Do you feel all right?"   
Lore gave her a Look and glanced to me. The doctor nodded. "I'm fine," Lore answered. "It's him, Zell..."  
"Dincht," I supplied.   
"Yes, that. His nose is bleeding. Could you see if he broke it or something?"  
"I know it's not br-"  
"Would you just be quiet for a minute?"  
Dr. Kadowaki grabbed a tissue and started cleaning the blood off of my face. "Injured in training?" she inquired.  
I hesitated. "Something like that."  
"Lore, did you read my note to you?" the doctor asked, bringing her attention back to Lore.  
"Yes, and I'm sorry you feel that way, although I understand why you do. I don't feel it's necessary yet," she replied.  
The doctor looked uncertain. "Well, I won't force the issue. Yet. But if you should change your mind, let me know." Dr. Kadowaki had finished looking at my nose and gave the diagnosis, finally something I could understand. The whole note conversation had lost me. "Well, it's not broken."  
"I told you."  
Lore wrinkled her nose at me and stuck out her tongue. I tried not to laugh. Boy, she could be sassy.  
"Be careful not to break the clot or it will start bleeding again," the doctor continued. "It's your nose, after all, so that shouldn't be too hard. Just don't walk into a wall."  
"Thanks, doctor. Can do," I answered  
"Thank you, Dr. Kadowaki," Lore said sweetly. We headed towards the dorms. She asked me a couple questions about exactly what I had been doing around Selphie, and I briefly explained my intentions. She nodded, and I enjoyed listening to her chatter on for a few minutes. "Well, at least maybe Irvine will get a clue now. I couldn't believe he just hit you like that! I mean, we all knew something was going on, but geez!" she threw her hands up into the air in disbelief.   
And hit my nose.  
I groaned, grabbing my nose. Sure enough, it was bleeding. Again. She spun around to face me. "Oh, Hyne! Zell, I'm sorry! Are you okay?"   
"I think we need to go back to the infirmary. Now my nose is broken."  
"Oh, it is not!" she exclaimed indignantly. "Now don't talk, you're bleeding!"  
"What does bleeding have to do with talking?"  
"You'll... you'll jar your nose!" "Lore, you're hysterical."   
She glared at me again. "Where's your dorm?"  
"Just a few doors away." I began fumbling for the key, then remembered the door didn't lock anymore. I opened the door, and she looked at me incredulously. "You don't lock your dorm?"  
"It doesn't lock right." I replied.  
"Oh...a maintenance thing?"  
I hesitated again. "Something like that," I replied, my face flushing as I remembered losing my temper the day before and breaking the door open. Well, Lore didn't need to know about that.   
She forgot about the door pretty quickly, dragging me into my room and making me sit down. Grabbing some tissues from my desk, she sat next to me and held them over my nose, putting her other arm around me in a half hug. "Oh, you poor dear, I'm sorry, I really am."  
"Hey, it's okay. I'll live. Swear," I replied. She took her arm away, a little sooner than she needed to, really. My eyes suddenly fell on a picture laying on my desk.  
The picture I had found in Lore's room yesterday. I swear for a moment I stopped breathing. I began praying to whatever gods were listening that, no matter what happened, She Would Not See That Picture. I realised she was looking around my room, and calmed down slightly. My heart rate went back to something close to regular. That is, until she started looking at my desk. I had never wished so much to be dead. I attempted to think of something to distract her. "Um, uh, so, um, how long till you get your cast off?" Not a bad save. Unfortunately, she still insisted on looking at my desk. "I have to go talk to Dr. Kadowaki and have her look at my arm again, make sure it's healed and all, but it should only be a couple more days." Then it happened. She looked at the picture. Right at it. I quickly changed my prayer to one that the gods would be merciful and kill me right then. She turned to look at me.  
"The last time I saw her was Friday and she said maybe in a week."  
Whaaaat? Oh yeah. Her cast. Dr. Kadowaki. "Oh, that's great."  
She nodded. "Can't wait. Is your nose still bleeding?"  
"No, I'm pretty sure it stopped." I carefully lifted the tissue from my face. "Yeah, it stopped."  
"I have a class in about 10 minutes, so I better go. I'm sooo sorry I hit you!"  
"Hey, I'm strong, remember?"   
She grinned and stood up. "It's that macho kick again, I see. I'll talk to you later, tough guy."  
"Have fun in class."  
"Oh, for sure. It'll be a blast," she replied, leaving. I looked over at my desk, confused. She hadn't seen the picture? How could she have missed it? It was a foot away. Then I saw it. I had called my mom that day- I call home every Friday- and when I put the phone back on the desk, I set it so it blocked the picture. The only part she had been able to see was Selphie, which she probably didn't think anything of.   
And to think, I thought Hyne was simply out to torture me.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	5. ..I can't think of a title right now....

Authors Notes: I apologize a hundred times for how long this chapter took. For some reason, I just couldn't sit down and write it. Plus, things have been kinda crazy lately. (I know, excuses, excuses). Please read and review! Thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far! Like I said in the last Authors Notes, I'm working on this little thing where, at some point in the story, I will explain a "quirk" of all the main characters. For example, I'm going to explain Zell's tattoo (as if that hasn't been done to death), and Irvine and his cowboy motif (again, no points for creativity). I know it really has nothing to do with the story, but I thought it would be interesting, and the story is long enough to throw it in without distracting too much from the actual story line. I already know definitely what I'm doing for Irvine, Selphie (Selphie's is in this chapter, actually, about her love of trains), and Zell, but I'm at a loss for the other characters. So, suggestions are welcome there, too.   
  
  
  
Chapter 5:   
  
  
Irvine and I had it out at dinner that night. Selphie just started snickering at me as I typed that. "You HAD IT OUT?" she's saying. "What's with guys? Can't you just say you apologized?" Well, there wasn't much of an apology, really. It went sort of like this.  
"Hey."  
"Hey."  
"What's up?"  
"Eh. You?"  
"Eh."  
And things were good again. That's how we guys like to operate. No mushy reunion scenes.  
Selphie brought Lore along to dinner that night. She had grown into our little group pretty quickly. Two days, and already Quistis and Rinoa thought she was the greatest. And you already know about Irvine. Squall acted pretty indifferent towards her, but that was expected. I could tell he liked her okay. Selphie was really glad she fit in with us so well. We all sat and talked for awhile, then Selphie blurted out, "Hey, guys, let's go out tonight!"  
"Great!" Rinoa agreed. "Where to?"  
I noticed Lore made a point of looking at her plate, not wanting to intrude. Irvine thought for a moment. "What's near here? There's nothing at Balamb, is there?"  
"Hey, party at Mrs. Dincht's house!" Selphie cheered. "Booyaka!"  
"Yeah, right. She'd flip if I brought all you raving lunatics there."  
"I don't know, your mom seems okay with stuff like that," Selphie argued.  
I shrugged. "It still wouldn't be the same with the parental supervision. And there's nothing else in Balamb, no clubs or anything. Timber?"  
Rinoa nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah, there IS a club. Lots of teenagers go. They just won't serve alcohol to us."  
"Eh," Irvine replied. "We take what we can get. I can't think of anyplace better."  
Squall nodded. "Lore, can you sign out?"  
Garden rules were that curfew was 11:00. After that, you had to be in your dorm or the training center. (Of course, that's not saying everyone always followed that rule...) 2 times a month, you could sign out to be gone overnight and just had to be back in time for your classes the next day. That was really only convenient once in a while to go out with your friends, or if you lived nearby like me. Most people couldn't go home just for one night, they lived too far away.   
Lore finally looked up. "Oh, no, I don't want to intrude on you guys-"  
Quistis cut her off. "No, come with us! We all want you to come, right?" Everyone nodded their assent.   
"Well, if you're sure.." Lore said uncertainly.  
"Of course we're sure!" Rinoa chimed in.  
" Let's all meet in the lobby at...7?" Squall asked. "The girls can hurry to get ready. We can't leave much later than that, with the train ride." Everyone finished eating quickly, and we scattered to get ready to leave.   
  
  
I didn't really have much I needed to do to get ready, so half an hour was plenty of time. I took a shower, dressed, brushed my teeth and combed back my hair. In twenty minutes, I was ready. It occured to me that I had taken two showers that day, and noted in amusement the change in my personal hygeine since I had met Lore. Since I still had time, I shaved. Then for good measure, I put on some cologne. Then I headed to the lobby. Rinoa, Squall, and Quistis were already there. Soon I could see Irvine walking towards us with Selphie. Lore followed behind them, looking self conscious. I couldn't tell why, she was a wow. Her long hair was down, but part of it was twisted into some kind of knot on her head. I'm no good with that sort of thing, but it looked better than it sounds. She was wearing dark green heels and a green sleeveless dress with a knee length skirt. The skirt fell in waves, or pleats, or whatever the hell girls call them. They came to stand with us.  
"All right, we'll head to Balamb if everyone's ready," Squall said. When he got no protest, he pushed open the door and began walking out of Garden. I went behind everyone to where Lore was.  
"Relax," I whispered. "You look great."  
"Thanks," she said, sounding relieved. "I always feel funny having to dress up. I never know if I'll be too casual or too dressy."  
"Relax," I repeated. I waited as she signed out at the front desk, and we walked to Balamb. At Balamb, we stopped for a minute to say hi to my Ma, and introduce her to Lore. I told her we had to leave soon to go to Timber. She said, "You know, Zell, if you'd like to bring a few friends over for a small party sometime, I don't mind. You don't always have to go to Timber and these places." Selphie elbowed me.   
"Thanks, Ma, I'll keep that in mind," I replied, brushing Selphie's arm away. "Right now, we better catch our train." We said our goodbyes and headed for the train station.  
We were all together in one car. Selphie stood outside in the hallway, watching the scenery through the windows all along the side of the car. Lore was with her. The rest of us sat in the room on the train and talked. After about ten minutes, I went to go see what Selphie and Lore were up to.   
Opening the door, I saw them looking out the window. Quietly, Selphie spoke. "I don't remember her anymore."  
Lore looked thoughtful, then answered, "Your mother?" in the same low voice. Selphie nodded, "I know things from my old diaries, like about the train. But in my mind, I can't remember about her. What she looked like, how she acted..."  
They still hadn't noticed me. "Hey, ladies, whatcha up to?" I called out like I had just gotten there. I didn't want to look like I had been spying on them, but I wanted Selphie to know I was there before she said anything else.  
"Hi, Zell! We're just talking out here!" Selphie replied in a falsly cheerful voice.   
"Really? What about?"  
She looked at me for a minute. "Zell?" she finally asked. "Can you remember them? Your real parents?"  
I shook my head. "Not one thing."  
"I- I used to. A little. Then, right after Irvine told us about the orphanage, I read through some old diaries. From before I had used a GF. And as I read, I could remember her more, if I tried real hard. Now, all I know is what I read in my diaries....I don't actually REMEMBER any of it...."  
There were a few moments of silence, then she continued, lost in thought. "She put me on a train to see my dad. I was too young to really know why, but I think it had something to do with the war. She was getting me out of a dangerous area. So she put me on a train, all by myself, to visit him. She said I'd come back to her soon, I was just going for a visit. I think...I think she really believed that. After awhile, my dad sent me back to my mom...but she had already died. The neighbors got the note that I was coming, and went to meet me at the train station instead. I never really realised what had happened. I stayed with them for a few days. They checked around to see if my father was still living, they didn't want to put me on a train if he wouldn't be there to take care of me. They received a notice...that...that he had died..So they put me on a train to an orphanage instead. I was so young..I still thought I was going to meet my mom there. I thought she was at the orphanage, whatever that was. I was so happy...then some lady from the orphanage came to meet me. There was no room there, probably because of the war. So after a few days, they sent me to Matron." She smiled sadly. "No one really explained what was going on. They were so confused as to what to do with me, they didn't really have time to explain what death was. I still thought it was going to be my mom waiting for me when I got off that train. But it was Matron..she was the first one to really explain to me what had happened. Still, I've always liked trains. I think way back in my mind, it's like I'm still thinking I'm going to go see my mom." There was a moment of silence, then she began humming softly to herself. She sang, quietly, "Train, train, take us away.." Then she added, "My mom taught me that song," and resumed singing. All I could really think of was how glad I was I have my mother. She's my mother through adoption, but I never felt like I was growing up missing anything like Selphie must have. Even if she didn't remember much about the orphanage at Trabia, she still would have known where she came from. And it wasn't from a home with a mom and a dad like most of her friends there. It was pretty weird, seeing Selphie so serious.   
Of course, in a few minutes she was acting her normal self, exclaiming over a lake, telling Lore about Timber, and, strangely enough, pretending she was a duck. Don't ask.  
We reached Timber around quarter after 8. Rinoa led us to the club she had been talking about. As you entered, there was a bar to the right, along the same wall as the door. The right side of the club was tables, only 8, and the left side was a large, open dance area. In the far left corner was a platform for a band, but there was a D.J. that night. His stuff was set up next to the band platform, towards the center of the wall. Rinoa explained that they had more tables in storage for the rare times they needed them, but had put them away to have as much room to dance as they could. Leading us to a table, she also informed us that bands were only on Saturdays. We sat down. Squall, Irvine and I went and got drinks for everyone. Rinoa managed to persuade Squall to dance. I swear, if she put her mind to it, she could get him to agree to anything. I have never seen a guy so whipped. At least he had improved since the SeeD Ball. If he still looked at stupid dancing now as he did then, I would have made him sit at a different table.  
Through the night, Squall danced with Rinoa several times, but only when she forced him. A stranger asked her to dance. When she came back to the table, Squall's arm stayed quite possessively around her shoulders, which discouraged that from happening again. Irvine danced with all the girls at our table, but didn't ask anyone outside of our table to dance. I guess I had gotten him kinda shook up earlier. It looked like he was starting to shape up. Selphie, on the other hand, danced with about every guy there. She was full of energy. Irvine didn't really seem all that concerned. I think he just didn't feel some guy all the way from Timber she spent 3 minutes with was much of a threat. Lore hung out with a lot of guys, too, but I was pretty calm about it. I had pretty much the same attitude as Irvine. It also might have had to do with the fact that by that point, Irvine and I had wandered up to the bar and discovered they wouldn't card us. We must have been able to pass for 21, because Rinoa insisted the owner wouldn't look the other way if they had any doubts. So he and I were in charge of getting drinks for everyone. By the time she started dancing with all the Timber jerks, I had already had a couple of drinks and was feeling pretty mellow. Speaking of mellow, I haven't said anything about Quistis. She protested us drinking at first, but we finally talked her into a Daquiri. She had a couple of drinks, kinda reluctantly, then really started loosening up more. She was goofing around, dancing with people, not thinking so damn much about every little thing. I had never seen her look like she was having as much fun as she was then. Nothing like a little false self-confidence. (Or sarcasm.)  
While Lore was with some new loser, Selphie dragged me off for a dance. She insisted that since I had danced with Rinoa and Quistis, I had to dance with her, too. Reluctantly, I agreed. As we walked out to the floor, I heard Squall say, "I'm surprised he had the guts to say yes after what Irvine did today."  
Quistis replied, sounding amused, "More like he didn't have guts enough to tell Selphie no."  
"Just ignore them, Chicken-Wuss," Selphie called over her shoulder. She stopped and put my hands on her waist, ready to dance.  
"The HELL?! Why's everyone picking on me?!"  
"Settle down..chicken-wuss."  
Rolling my eyes, I sighed in exasperation. After awhile, Selphie, that sneaky little brat, started guiding me towards Lore without my realising it. Once we were next to her, I noticed, but it was too late. Selphie was already yelling hellos. "This is Robert!" Lore shouted over the music. "He's got the greatest sense of humor!" she added with a giggle. Oh gag me. I decided I was going to need another drink. Or five.   
"Hey, why don't we-" Selphie began. I knew what was coming, and started walking away. "Switch partners? Lore, you can dance with Zell. Hey! Where IS Zell?!" Selphie continued, her voice fading as I got farther away. I would ask Lore to dance sometime. I just didn't want to get pushed into it by that brat.   
Lore came back after another dance, which made 3 in a row. All with different guys, luckily. At least she didn't seem to have any real interest in anyone, not even Robert with his great sense of humor. Tapping my glass, I asked her if she wanted to dance. She smiled, one of those "no-thanks-not-a-chance-but-I-don't-want-to-hurt-your-feelings" smiles. "Oh, Zell, I'm kinda tired right now. But we'll have to dance real soon." Quistis came back then. Dropping into her chair, she gasped for breath. Her eyes were shining. "It's been a long time since I danced like this," she breathed. "I haven't danced outside of a Garden function in 3 years."  
"3 years? You couldn't tell out there, you were great," Lore praised.  
"You should have seen the guys watching," Rinoa added. Quistis blushed, but she was beaming.   
Lore sat out the next few songs, then got up, pulling on my arm. She was an awesome dancer. You could tell she was really good, but she wasn't showy about it at all. We just messed around, BS-ing some swing steps. She tried spinning me around, but she was so short I had to kinda duck under her arm. Then we tried disco. Then we took all these professional dance moves and made them really cheesy. I had to copy her, she actually knew things like waltzes and cha-cha and whatever else there is. That led into her starting a "flapper" thing, which half the people out on the dance floor got into it. I was DYING of laughter. She totally cracked me up. Selphie and Irvine made their way over to us. Still dancing, Selphie called, "Zell, do you ALWAYS have to make people look at you, no matter where we are? Do you do anything serious?"  
"Why bother?" I retorted.  
Irvine shook his head. "The universe sure is vast..to think we may have found someone who can compete with Zell's clowning."  
Lore put on a look of horror. "No, take it back!" Everyone laughed.  
"The hell is everyone picking me so much?!" A slow song started, and Selphie and Irvine began drifting away from us. Lore leaned against me and we swayed to the music, just like regular people this time. I started to notice that it was almost like she was using me to support her, which was a little strange, but I wasn't going to complain. The music sped up again, and we started doing the twist. We tried a few Salsa steps, then she started the Mambo. It didn't fit the music at all, but we didn't care. The song ended, and she shook her head. "I'm out for now."  
"Aw, come on, we're just getting started!"  
She shook her head again. Selphie suddenly broke through to us. She came up to me. Glancing at Lore, she said, "Dance with me, Zell?" I could have sworn she sounded almost nervous.   
"Where's Irvine?" I asked.  
"Off getting drinks or something, who knows? Lore can sit down for awhile." I agreed, watching Lore as she walked back to the table. Once the song finished, Irvine came back to reclaim Selphie, and I returned to our table. Rinoa had dragged Squall off for another dance, and I didn't have any clue where Quistis was. So that left me and Lore. I didn't ask her for another dance, reasoning Selphie must have known she was tired. And listening to her, her breathing sounded kinda funny, like she was short of breath or something. We just sat and talked. It was about one in the morning, and things were starting to wind down. The rest of the night, a few of us danced a little more, we had a couple more drinks, but I think everyone was tiring out. We left at about quarter to two, and were back in Balamb at 2:30. Selphie and Lore stayed with the rest of us, Selphie because it was dark and Lore because it was cold. She was cold in the train room, too. I ended up giving her my jacket.   
About two minutes before we arrived in Balamb, she woke me up. She tried calling my name, and finally leaned over so we were nose to nose. "Zell!" she hissed.  
"Huh?" I muttered tiredly. I opened my eyes, and looked right into a pair of brown ones. I jumped, startled, and hit my head on the wall I had been leaning against.   
"Jesus!" I exclaimed. The commotion woke everyone else up.  
"We're going to be there soon."  
"Mm-hmm." I murmured, half asleep again. "Oh, man, then we have to walk to Garden."  
"We could always rent a car. Or stay at your house and walk to Garden in the morning. Would your mom mind?"  
"Nah," I said tiredly. "That's a great idea. Why don't I have great ideas?"  
She smiled kindly. "Because you have a very big heart......and a very small brain."   
Squall snickered. "So, are we staying at your house? Do you mind?"  
We arrived at Balamb then, and I had time to think about it while everyone was getting off the train. "I guess it'll be cool," I answered later, as we left the depot. "I mean, you've all been to my house already, and I'm too tired to walk back to Garden." So it was decided, and we all went to my house. I warned everyone to be quiet, and we went inside.   
"So, who'll stay in the living room and who'll sleep in your room?" Squall asked.  
"OOOOH! I wanna see Zell's room!" Selphie whispered excitedly. I thought fast. Selphie and who else?  
"Okay, Selphie, me, and Lore'll be up in my room."  
Irvine laughed. "You don't think Rinoa and Squall should be separated, if they'll be here all night together?"  
"Hey, I'm not the chaperone," I replied. "Bathroom is right there, before the stairs." I got some blankets and pillows for Squall and Living Room Co., then took Lore and Selphie upstairs. I was gonna get Lore in my bedroom...just not the way I had hoped. It would do.  
Selphie jumped into the room. "Wow! So this is Zell's room? It's so clean!"  
"Yeah, and I like it clean. So don't go wrecking everything, brat."  
She stuck her tongue out at me. "You should be honored that a very very cute girl is in your room!"   
Oh, I am, Selphie. Just not the same girl you're thinking of.  
"Is this your T-Board?" Lore asked quietly.  
"Uh-huh. I had to leave it here so it didn't get confiscated like my other one."  
Selphie giggled. "Is this the same one you were on when you flew into the girls restr-"  
"Aargh! That's enough of you!" I interrupted. Trying to ignore the blush I felt on my cheeks, I turned to Lore. "You board?"  
She shook her head. "I don't know how."  
"Really?! I'll teach you sometime. It's great."  
"When's your first class tomorrow, Lore? 9:00?" Selphie asked.  
Lore nodded. "I can leave by myself. I hate for everyone to get up at 8:00 because I have to be in class."  
"No way!" Selphie protested. "I'll come with you, you can't go by yourself!"  
"I'll set my alarm and the 3 of us will go. 8:00?" I said, reaching for my alarm.  
She thought. "Umm...make it 8:15, I can get ready at Garden in 10 minutes."  
I set the alarm, and left to get pillows, blankets and such. Selphie was asleep when I got back.  
"Zell," Lore said.  
"Ye-esss?"  
"You're drunk," she stated.  
"No, I'm not. I hardly drank."  
"You are and you did too. Look, you just stumbled."  
"So?"  
"Zell, hit that punching bag over your bed."  
I tried, missed, and fell face down on the bed.   
"You're drunk."  
"That's a silly way to tell," I mumbled from the mattress, then started sitting up.  
She rolled her eyes. "Lay down."  
"Whoa, I'm not that kind of guy," I answered. In my mind, I thought, Like hell you aren't, Dincht.  
"Oh, be quiet. You need to go to sleep. Lay down."  
I moved to the side of the bed and lay back. She began folding a blanket and set it on the ground.  
"What are you doing?" I asked.  
"Making myself a bed," she replied, covering Selphie with another blanket.  
"Aren't you sleeping here?" I said, patting the bed.  
She picked up a third blanket and moved towards me.   
"Zell, you're on the bed."  
"We can share."   
She stood by the side of the bed. "We are NOT sharing the bed."  
"Why not? Lots of room."  
"No."  
I grabbed her waist and started pulling her down. She tumbled onto the bed, then hurriedly stood up.  
"No," she repeated.  
"Then you sleep on my bed and I'll sleep on the floor. You're my guest."  
She pushed me back down. "It's YOUR bed!"  
"Lore-"  
"Zell." She threw the blanket down over me. "There. No more arguments."  
"Fine, whatever," I replied, tired again. She tucked the blanket around me.  
"You're the greatest," I mumbled. She sat on the edge of the bed.   
"Zell, you're drunk. Go to sleep."  
"I told you, I'm not drunk."  
"Goodnight, Zell." There was a long pause and I began drifting off to sleep. Suddenly, she leaned over and gave me a small, soft kiss goodnight. She waited a moment, and I think maybe she had decided I was asleep. Or maybe not.   
"You're drunk...and you taste like candy," she said quietly. Then I felt her move off the bed, and heard the rustle of a blanket as she lay down on the floor and pulled the blanket over herself.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



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